30/03/24 - Chiltern Chain Walk - Stage 19 - Exlade Street

 Woodland walking for a Gastropub with poor quality control

An 11 mile romp through South Oxfordshire, almost entirely in woodland. Pleasant enough at the time, but hardly providing interest for a blog. It's the penultimate stage of the Chiltern Chain Walk, so recorded for my own completeness only.

I start in Exlade Street. To provide an indication of scale, the Wikipedia page describes it as a hamlet that was significantly reduced in size when two house burned down. There is a pub, the Highwayman, that I make payment for use of their car park through post walk refreshment.

Looks like the Highwayman has already been on the rob

Soon into woodland, where I remain for day. Blair Witch vibes, with very few encounters with sentient life of any kind.

Today's Vista

Soon back at Stage 18's Stoke Row. Brakspear beers not enticing enough to convince me to revisit the Cheery Tree but walking further along the row, I take a pause at today's only item of interest. The Maharajah's Well - dug by two men to a depth of twice that of Nelson's Column over a year. In an act of international charity setting a precedent for Idi Amin's aid the winter of disconnect, paid for by an act of charity by Indian aristocracy in 1864.

The Canopy

In a blog of few highlights, I bring you a guilded elephant

Surprisingly, I turn down a visit to the Black Horse in Checkendon. Not necessarily because Whatpub states that the beer is on gravity dispense. More because I was excited at the trail of a number of mystery caches that I had quickly solved before heading down.

Back to the Highwayman - car park now full and people have to work hard to get here, so it must have something to offer punters.

C17th Original

Its a gastropub that doesn't do the sandwich that I am after. Instead, I can order off the nibbles section. Alas, they have sold out of £8.25 scotch eggs. Some would say that this is saving me from myself, but having been resigned to ordering mini chedders, I was upsold to Dick Turpin Loaded Fries.

Cue jokes that at least Dick wore a mask.

Beerwise, its nice to see some Locale Ales....  Marlow Rebellion bringing back fond memories of the Northern sections of the London Countryway walk. Renegade Good Old Boy was chosen.

Lifting to my nose was all I needed to tell me it was off. Leading to the frisson of sending it back and counter arguing a defence for "Its meant to smell like that".

Initial relief that it was instantly declared end of the barrel, leading me to be rather annoyed they tried to palm it off on me in the first place.

The replacement, after a barrel change

Walk Information

Distance - 11 Miles

Geocaches - 12 

Walk Inspiration

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18

29/03/24 - Birmingham CAMRA Pub Trails - City Centre (Part 2)

 Not the Usual Suspects

Birmingham CAMRA are doing a fine job of promoting their area's pubs. A series of "Pub Trails" in the City Centre and suburbs published on-line.

No one could accuse them of picking the obvious in their City Centre Part 2 trail of 5 pubs.

From many years of pub ticking experience, I find it best practice to avoid any pub with Railway in its name.

The Railway

Quite why CAMRA would recommend this pub must be lost in the annals of time. Pubsgalore reviewers summarising why I've never previously ventured in.

I've always walked past this pub thinking what a dive it looked. It looks as if it might be dark and depressing inside, with lots of lager swilling yobs. The number of smokers hanging around outside the doors does not help with first impressions.

A cavern of a place, with TV Screen aplenty. Two cask on and my Purity Mad Goose was better than expected. Would I return? Well, you can see the New Street Wetherspoons through the window and there is a cost of living crisis.

Cherry Reds is far more like it. Has it really been open for 14 years now? This has been a Good Beer Guide regular for several years and there is something for everyone. Interesting International beers, fridges full of craft cans and local keg and cask. If beer is not your thing, there is cake. If cake is not your thing, they host regular comedy nights and live music upstairs.

I only wish I either lived closer or in a country with a functioning night time public transport system. The last train home well before the acts would finish.

Springtime Kolsch

Despite living near Birmingham all my life, I had never even heard of Keg and Grill.  Finding it is not as easy as you would expect. A clue from etched windows, but where exactly is the front door?

Its in there, somewhere

A City Centre Desi pub - the onion bhaji's are priced £8.95 on the menu but in an interesting twist, retail at £4.95.  

The details on the trail page do not correlate with reality - wheras a pub conversion is described, this looks like a conferance centre. As the only punter, the very friendly bar-man tells me how they recently moved and used to be on the other side of the queensway. Hopefully, their regulars are aware of this. There's going to be little footfall here, and any potential customers have a lot of competition around the corner.

    

In the interest of trying something new - a Bombay Bicycle IPA

The bhaji's are excellent - a meal on their own - and fortify me for the uphill walk to The Craven Arms. A must visit Black Country Ales pub, that manages to stand isolated in the face of regeneration. 

Hanging on to Tradition

BCA are running their annual pub ticking promotion at the moment. A free sweatshirt for visiting any 25 of their 51 (!) pubs across the Midlands. From Herefordshire to Leicestershire. Variety, you won't achieve. But decent cobs, fine beer from breweries you're unlikely to have heard of and busy houses, you will find. The demand for tradition is there and BCAs simple formula works.

How pubs should look

A theatrical finish to the day at the Victoria. Aptly enough, a C19th Victorian corner boozer, with a distinctive exterior and plush interior. A longer cocktail menu than cask offerings, as I return to where I started with a half of Mad Goose. Stuffed into a Wye Valley Nightjar glass.

A Theatre Pub in Birmingham

Mad Goose in a Night Jar

Not the usual suspects for a Birmingham Pub Crawl.  Those are recommended in this one day to be completed trail. 

29/03/24 - From St Andrews to Villa Park

 A Second City Football Derby Walk

This appeals to my love of psychogeography. A seemingly pointless walk to unearth football rivalry.

From the crumbling St Andrews to the aristocratic Villa Park, housed in the grounds of a stately manor home. Blues - seemingly always suffixed with an away goal in the 90 (+3) minute. The Vile who won the European league in 1982 with just 14 players. But they don't like to talk about that.

The big question - how many Peaky Blinder effigys will be found?

The Fewer the Better

The Number 17 bus drops me off outside the Blues, where my Adventure Lab Caching of the sporting grounds of Birmingham is stopped by an official, resplendent in club tie. He is warning me for my own safety, as I am directly under the cherry picker that is adding the banner "Knighthead Park @" to new "St Andrews" text.

Shilen Patel best not be thinking of rebranding the Hawthorns. So far, he hasn't put a foot wrong.

An explanation of my nefarious activities and he helps me find the answer. Harry Hibbs playing in goal in a 1931 FA Cup final loss to the Baggies. Already, I know its going to be a good day.

Retire the shirt number - no, not Trevor's, the other lads

I would have brought you a photo of the Garrison Pub - long closed and near derelict on my last visit. The inspiration for the Peaky Blinders pub. Even Birmingham is joining in with gentrification. It's been sanitised and cleaned up to a point of boredom. Presumably opening soon, allowing the square eyed to have their photo taken next to a life sized cut out of Arthur, holding a pint.

Instead, I bring another dead pub. Surely the Woodman will re-open to serve London Commuters who have perhaps saved 20 minutes off their 2047 journey. Drowning their sorrows, as AI will have already taken their jobs.

Curzon Street Station - the former rail gateway to the 2nd City

A trip down memory lane next. I haven't been through Aston University grounds since I was of student age myself. There were two pubs - The Sack of Potatoes and the Pot of Beer and a small independent cinema, the Triangle, which was the only place in the West Midlands showing Reservoir Dogs.  And Man Bites Dog.

The Cinema has long gone but the pubs remain. Bank Holiday, midday and I am the only punter in both.

The more traditional Sacks of Potatoes

In solidarity with students, I paid for my half an HPA with a cheque

Pot of Beer - rebranded as Gosta Green - still a fun pub

The Birmingham/Fazeley Canal provides an arrow straight route to Aston. Half arsed attempts at protecting pedestrians from a collapsing wall with a builders fence is simply pushed aside by the residents who can conduct their own health and safety assessment.

All Birmingham Walks have a canal stretch.  Its the law.

With every day a school day, I find the 1635 Jacobean stately home, where Aston Villa have made their home. A business school now. Unexpectedly, the grounds appear to be open and free to wander - although there is an unmanned gatehouse and cafe. I half expect to chased for entry fees.

Cultured Aston

Holte Enders in the Sky

All that remains is to catch the number 7 back to town. Where a CAMRA endorsed pub crawl awaits.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - AZ - Hidden Walks in Birmingham Walk 6

Previous Birmingham AZ Walks - Walk 1 & 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5

Pubs - 2

25/03/24 - Things to do in San Sebastian

 (Briefly) What we did on our Holidays.....

San Sebastián, also known as Donostia in the Basque language, is a charming coastal city nestled in the Basque Country region of Spain. Renowned for its breathtaking beaches, world-class cuisine, and rich cultural heritage, San Sebastián attracts visitors from around the globe.

The city is perhaps best known for its stunning La Concha Beach, a crescent-shaped stretch of golden sand framed by scenic promenades and lush green hills. This beach offers not only opportunities for sunbathing and swimming but also picturesque views of the surrounding bay and the iconic island of Santa Clara.

In addition to its natural beauty, San Sebastián boasts a thriving culinary scene, earning it the reputation as a food lover's paradise. The city is home to numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, traditional pintxo bars, and bustling markets where visitors can sample an array of delectable Basque specialties, including pintxos (small, flavorful snacks) and fresh seafood.

That's the AI Summary of our latest getaway. Here's what we got up to;

SIGHTSEEING

The coach from Bilbao airport drops you off at the River in the New Town, where its a short walk into the pedestrianised old town. A promenade offers a 3 mile there and back walk with the beautiful people. And their dogs. A funicular railway at the far Western end offers access to an unexpected fun-fair and the best views of the bay.

View from the Monte Igeldo fun-fair

EATING

A gastronomic hot-spot, the choices of dining out fall into two camps - the chaos of the Pintxos bars, or more fancy restaurants - where the best dishes are usually preceded by an animal that was suckling.

Pintxos bars - imagine going on a pub crawl and having a different savoury snack at each location. For the English, think Black Sheep with a sausage roll at the Red Lion, followed by cheese and onion crisps with a pickled egg at the Kings Arms.

It's a scrum to get into most of these tiny bars and the menus are tricky to decipher. Spanglish will only help you so far. See Photo 2;

My first order - Two Beers, and Pintxos of the landlady's choice. Which never came.

You can't really go wrong in choosing which bar - but we tried Borda Berri, Bar Sport, Txepetxa Taberna and attempted to get into Bar Nestor on at least three occasions.

Bar Hanging for Squid at Txepetxa Taberna

DRINKING

Obviously, this can be completed at the Pintxos bars but a quick google showed a couple of Craft Bars.

Akerbeltz is located on the Western Edge of the old town and having fine views of the bay.  Loads of outside seating, served by a tiny bar with an extensive menu. The top 6 menu items are keg, with the rest in can. Various IPAs chosen over the week - testing WCIPA against DIPAs and HIPAs. The last one a new one on me but I should have guessed "Hazy"

On the Basqueland Murk

For something more traditional - Monpas - at the opposite side of town was found at the end of our best walk.  Four Belgian beers on keg including Chouffe, Gulden Draak and Kwak.

No Shoe Deposit required

WALKING

I expected there to be City Walks - and there was.  A there and back along the prom is mandatory.  As is psychogeography in the narrow streets of the old town, followed by a climb to Motako Gaztelua castle for the views.

Downloading a few routes from Komoot proved a major success. It pointed us to a 7 mile walk up Monte Ulia at the Eastern End of the town. This was wild walking on good paths and thankfully, the mapping through the app was excellent. I could bring photos off the cliffs and sea views but you know the score.  Instead, a pointer to future Mappiman for well documented walks that could be available abroad;

Labelled Paths

GR 121 and GR 287 transpired to be Long Distance Paths but SL-GI 33 was more interesting.  A simple 5 mile circular walk that was very close to our planned walk and would have been discovered if I had completed more research.  

Next holiday - look out for similar SL-GI Walks.